Location matters, for those seeking a home and for the real estate professional in a specific region.
Every time I go to a real estate conference outside our local area, I am reminded just how true this statement is. Even in Delaware, things happening or working in Northern Delaware may be different from things working in Southern Delaware.Whenever I attend a national conference, where the talk turns to statistics and trends, its in these moments I realize exactly how different things are in Delaware.
Shared similar real estate trends
- Inventory is low.
- Interest rates are rising; they will not fall again.
- Affordability and lack of inventory are causing a decline in people moving.
- If you plan to buy, now is the time to do it.
- If you must sell before you can buy, now is the time to do it.
But some of the trends or statistics are inconsistent with what we experience in Delaware
- Only 11% of the population moves.
- Less than 2% of the population moves across state lines.
- During their lifetime, people are moving less. On average, people are not buying their second home until the age of 54 versus 37 as happened some years back!
- Baby Boomers planning to retire are downsizing and moving into their forever home.
- Nationally, only 20% of home buyers are a nuclear family versus 43% in 1950 and 40% in 1970.
- 30% are singles, especially single women.
- 25% are unmarried couples.
Delaware is a unique real estate market
The conference we just attended was in Nashville, TN, a vibrant city that is booming. Both residential and commercial both the millennials and the Boomers.
The population of Nashville was 684,410 in 2016! The population of the entire state of Delaware was 961,939 in 2017; still less than 1 million people, which is partly why we fly below the radar. We are too small to appear in these national statistics and our trends do not move the bar.
Even though only 2% of the population moves across state lines, we are surrounded by some of the most heavily populated states in the Mid-Atlantic with perhaps the largest concentration of Baby Boomers facing retirement. And these surrounding states have some of the highest taxes and fees impacting the cost of living when compared to Delaware.
As a brokerage focused exclusively on what we call Active Adults or Boomers and Beyond, that 2% keeps us very busy. If you are a Boomer looking to find out if Delaware is for you, please download our Relocation Guides to learn all about Northern, Central and Southern Delaware.